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PFR Originals: 2/7/16 – 2/14/16

By | at February 14, 2016 3:49 pm

The original analysis and content produced by the PFR staff during the past week:

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Week In Review: 2/7/16 – 2/14/16

By | at February 14, 2016 2:55 pm

Headlines:

Free Agent Rumors:

Extended:

Signed/Re-Signed:

Released/Waived:

Retired:

Front Office:

  • Falcons – hired Joel Collier as director of pro personnel (link)
  • Giants – hired Martin Mayhew of director of football operations/special projects (link)
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Broncos Attempting To Re-Sign Malik Jackson

By | at February 14, 2016 1:31 pm

The Broncos are “negotiating in earnest” with pending free agent defensive end Malik Jackson, reports Mike Klis of 9 News. However, the two sides aren’t yet close to reaching a new deal, meaning that Jackson is still likely to enter free agency on March 9.Malik Jackson (Vertical)

Denver, of course, has already committed a large sum to its other defensive end, as it agreed to a four-year, $36.75MM extension with Derek Wolfe last month. The 26-year-old Jackson is surely looking to match, or perhaps top, that figure, and given the recent deals handed out 3-4 defensive ends, he should be able to cash out on the open market. With his new deal, Wolfe became the seventh 3-4 DE to top the $9MM/per year mark, a list that includes Mike Daniels, Corey Liuget, and Cameron Jordan — all of whom signed extensions in the past year — so Jackson will presumably use that average annual value as his target.

[RELATED: Denver expected to use franchise tag on LB Von Miller]

But cap space might be an issue, as the Broncos are projected to head into the offseason with only ~$7.4MM in cap room. Of course, that counts Peyton Manning‘s 2016 cap charge of $21.5MM, which should vanish if he retires or is released. Other moves can be made as well — left tackle Ryan Clady has indicated he’s open to restructuring his contract, while linebacker DeMarcus Ware could be cut (and as we learned yesterday, Ware’s fate may indeed be correlated to whether Denver can retain Jackson).

The biggest obstacle to re-signing Jackson, however, might be that the Broncos also need to retain Super Bowl MVP Von Miller. A one-year franchise tag would cost Denver about $14MM, and even a long-term extension with Miller figures to feature a high year-one cap charge (per Klis, the Miller and the Broncos have not yet begun negotiating). General manager John Elway admitted last week that money could get tight, noting that “it’s a fluid situation and our budget is only so big,” especially given that starting linebacker Danny Trevathan is also a free agent.

[RELATED: Broncos tight end Owen Daniels plans to return in 2016]

For his part, Jackson sounds amenable to remaining in Denver for the long haul, but also realizes that this is his best opportunity to cash in via free agency. “For me, I would love to say here and just continue with my boys, continue this run with them and try to get another one with this defense,” Jackson said during an appearance on Pro Football Talk Live last week. “It is a business, so we’ll see what happens.“

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Sunday Roundup: T. Jackson, Osweiler, Jags

By | at February 14, 2016 12:38 pm

The brief post-Super Bowl lull has set in on the NFL world, but the first day of free agency is right around the corner, and you can bet that there will soon be reports concerning contract extensions, franchise tags, etc. As we await that deluge, let’s take a look at some news and notes from around the league:

  • Seahawks backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson is expected to test the free agent market this year, according to Jessamyn McIntyre of 710 ESPN Seattle (via Twitter). McIntyre reports that there was a strong market for Jackson’s services last season before he ultimately decided to re-up with Seattle.
  • Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders what it will take for the Broncos to retain Brock Osweiler, especially since there are likely to be a number of teams like the Texans, Jets, and Rams potentially willing to bid against Denver for his services. We learned yesterday that a contract with an AAV of around $9MM would probably not be enough to prevent Osweiler from testing the free agent market, and Florio appears to concur with that sentiment.
  • Kevin Acee of The San Diego Times-Tribune explores potential stadium sites in San Diego that the Chargers might consider, concluding that the Mission Valley site, although less exciting, is more likely than the East Village option.
  • Although there have been rumors that the Jaguars will consider adding an offensive tackle this offseason, Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union would be surprised if that happened. O’Halloran notes that the Jaguars’ two starting tackles, Luke Joeckel and Jermey Parnell, currently account for the third and fourth highest cap charges on the roster, respectively, and he adds that no starting-caliber free agent tackle would sign with Jacksonville at this point.
  • Joe Person of The Charlotte Observer looks at the biggest issues facing the Panthers this offseason. He believes that Carolina will ultimately put the franchise tag on Josh Norman and should ask defensive end Charles Johnson to rework his current deal.
  • Although he may be a bit biased, former NFL GM and well-respected football mind Bill Polian believes the Lions made the right decision in retaining Jim Caldwell, per Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. Polian points to the team’s drastic improvement in the second half of the 2015 season and the players’ support of Caldwell as indicators that Caldwell is the right man for the job.
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East Notes: Bills, Hicks, Cousins

By | at February 14, 2016 11:31 am

Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News takes an interesting and in-depth look at the Bills‘ coaching dynamics prior to the hiring of Rex Ryan in early 2015. In 2014, the Bills’ defense under Jim Schwartz was terrific. It ranked fourth in yards allowed, first in sacks, and near the top of the league in a number of other statistical categories. Plus, there were no complaints that the system did not fit the players or that the team did not have enough talent to succeed on defense. So when former head coach Doug Marrone surprisingly decided to leave the team after his second year in Buffalo, Schwartz assumed the Bills would hire another offensive-minded head coach.

And then reports began to surface that the Bills were preparing to hire Ryan. Buffalo ownership wanted Schwartz to remain the team’s defensive coordinator, but given the philosophical differences between Schwartz and Ryan, Schwartz had no idea if he would remain the defensive coordinator in title only while someone else actually ran the defense. Ryan himself did not contact Schwartz until the day after he was hired, and that was to advise Schwartz that his services would no longer be required. The Bills defense, of course, took a major step back under Ryan, and there is a palpable sense of discontent among the team’s defensive players. As of right now, it is difficult to see the team making major strides in 2016, which could leave the front office with another tough coaching decision to make next year.

Now let’s round up a few more notes from the league’s east divisions:

  • In light of the NFL’s recent race to Los Angeles, there has been a great deal of speculation as to whether the Bills will pursue a new stadium of their own, even though the lease on Ralph Wilson Stadium is not due to expire until 2023. But Carucci, in a separate piece for The Buffalo News, says team ownership has absolutely no desire to move forward with a new stadium, and New York governor Andrew Cuomo is of the same mindset. As Carucci writes, “after investing $130 million in renovations at The Ralph, staying in Orchard Park is a long-term solution that works best for everyone.”
  • Phil Perry and Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com, along with Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com, identify Akiem Hicks as the Patriots‘ top impending free agent. The 26-year-old Hicks was an excellent run-stuffer in 2015, and he showed a reasonable amount of pass rush ability as well. Hicks combined with Malcom Brown and Alan Branch to form a stout defensive front last season, but considering Dominique Easley‘s injury history and the lack of depth behind that core group, Perry and Curran believe re-signing Hicks should be New England’s top priority this offseason. Reiss, however, would be surprised if the team used the franchise tag on Hicks, as the 2016 franchise tag value for defensive tackles is projected to be over $13MM.
  • Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com examines what a new contract for Kirk Cousins might look like and what the odds are that Cousins gets the franchise tag, but Tandler does not envision any scenario in which Cousins will not be playing for Washington next year.
  • John Keim of ESPN.com says Washington GM Scot McCloughan will approach free agency this season the same way he addressed it last year: with a number of relatively modest signings designed to add veteran stability to the team’s areas of need, like the defensive line and the secondary.
  • Free agent guards Alex Boone and Jahri Evans would be good fits for the Dolphins, who could use some help at both guard positions, but considering Miami’s other needs, James Walker of ESPN.com does not believe the team has enough cap room to sign either player.

 

1 comment Buffalo Bills Miami Dolphins New England Patriots Washington Commanders

Owen Daniels Plans To Keep Playing

By | at February 14, 2016 8:53 am

Broncos tight end Owen Daniels is a newly-minted Super Bowl champion and two-time Pro Bowler, and he has amassed 5,661 receiving yards and 36 touchdowns over a long and productive career. He is also 33, and he has had two of his ten professional seasons cut short, one due to a broken leg and one due to a torn ACL. All of that wear and tear has left him with no meniscus in his left knee and a right knee that caused him considerable pain throughout the course of the 2015 season.

Add it all up and it’s reasonable to wonder if Daniels is contemplating retirement. However, Daniels himself told Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today that he plans to continue playing at least through the end of his current contract, which runs through the 2017 season. He signed a three-year, $12.25MM deal last March and is set to count $4.5MM against the cap in 2016 and $5MM against the cap in 2017. The team could save $2.5MM by releasing him.

However, the Broncos do not currently have another tight end on the roster that could realistically step in for Daniels. Vernon Davis was a major disappointment after being acquired by Denver in a mid-season trade in 2015, and he is eligible for unrestricted free agency this year anyway. Virgil Green has been a quality No. 2 tight end during his five-year tenure with the Broncos, but he has not done much to show that he can step into the No. 1 role, and 2015 third-round selection Jeff Heuerman has significant upside but missed all of his rookie season after tearing his left ACL in a non-contact special teams drill last May.

Daniels spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Texans prior to signing a one-year deal with the Ravens in 2014. Current Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak was the Texans’ head coach for the entirety of Daniels’ career in Houston and served as Baltimore’s offensive coordinator in 2014 before both men moved to Denver in 2015. Daniels, a Wisconsin product, caught 46 balls for 517 yards and three scores last season, and he caught Peyton Manning‘s first pass of Super Bowl 50, good for 18 yards.

Said Daniels, “[Retirement’s] definitely an option. But I’m a man of my word, I signed a three-year deal, so I’d like to keep playing. I feel good enough as long as I can get some work done on my 33-year-old knees.”

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Offseason Outlook: New York Giants

By | at February 13, 2016 10:00 pm

Pending free agents:

Top 15 cap hits for 2016:

  1. Eli Manning, QB: $24,200,000
  2. Victor Cruz, WR: $9,900,000
  3. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB: $8,000,000
  4. Will Beatty, T: $5,000,000 (dead money)
  5. Shane Vereen, RB: $4,916,666
  6. J.T. Thomas, LB: $4,000,000
  7. Dwayne Harris, WR: $3,800,000
  8. Jonathan Casillas, LB: $3,416,666
  9. Ereck Flowers, T: $3,270,871
  10. Odell Beckham Jr., WR: $2,838,054
  11. Rashad Jennings, RB: $2,812,500
  12. Justin Pugh, T: $2,655,513
  13. Marshall Newhouse, T: $1,950,000
  14. Geoff Schwartz, G: $1,916,667 (dead money)
  15. John Jerry, G: $1,900,000

Notable coaching/front office changes:

Draft:

  • No. 10 overall pick
  • Owe conditional seventh-round pick to Steelers in deal for P Brad Wing.
    • Conditions aren’t known, but since Wing spent the entire season on Giants’ roster, the conditions were almost certainly met.

Other:

Overview:

It’s a new year and a new look on the sidelines in New York. Well, sort of.Tom Coughlin

In January, Tom Coughlin and the Giants opted to go their separate ways. Coughlin, who previously served as head coach of the Jaguars, led the Giants to a 102-90 record during his 12 seasons with the team. He also added eight victories in 11 postseason contests, with all of those wins coming in two seasons – 2007 and 2011 – during which the Giants won the Super Bowl. In recent years, however, Coughlin’s Giants struggled, having failed to earn a postseason berth since that 2011 Super Bowl season. After going 9-7 in 2012, New York has had three straight losing years, finishing 6-10 in a weak NFC East in 2015 and sealing Coughlin’s fate.

After Coughlin’s departure, the Giants decided to cast a wide net in their head coaching search. The Giants interviewed the likes of Teryl Austin, Doug Marrone, Mike Smith, Adam Gase, and Hue Jackson. They also showed interest in Panthers DC Sean McDermott and were said to be fawning over Saints head coach Sean Payton. Still, they prioritized two interviews in particular – one with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and one with offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. In mid-January, the Giants decided that the right man for the job was in-house all along when they promoted McAdoo to head coach.

McAdoo, who was hired as the Giants’ offensive coordinator in 2014, has helped Eli Manning enjoy perhaps the most productive two-year stretch of his NFL career. Although the club has posted a 6-10 record in consecutive seasons, Manning has thrived, averaging 4,423 yards and about 33 touchdowns per season over the last two years, to go along with a 92.9 rating. The Giants finished in the top eight in the NFL in terms of both yards per game (372.3) and points per game (26.3) in 2015.

Manning was vocal in his support of McAdoo and told a New York radio station earlier this month that he felt that McAdoo reminded him a lot of Coughlin. Manning’s endorsement alone did not get McAdoo the job, but there’s little doubt that it played a part.

After winning a combined 12 games over the last two seasons, the Giants are hoping to achieve a double-digit win total in 2016. Can they do it? Here’s a look at their offseason to-do list and their potential options.

Key Free Agents:

The Giants are expected to have more than $50MM in cap space at their disposal this spring, thanks to the massive list of free agents you see at the top of this article. There are several notable free agents that the Giants will consider hanging on to, including cornerback Prince Amukamara.

Amukamara has had an up-and-down run with the Giants since his entry into the league in 2011, but some of his problems can be chalked up to injury. Of course, that’s a double-edged sword when evaluating a free agent. Amukamara’s only 16-game season came in 2013 and in the last two years, he has only taken the field for 19 contests. Still, in his 11 games in 2015, Amukamara was a difference maker, notching 63 total tackles, 10 pass deflections, one fumble recovery, and one interception. When healthy, Amukamara has demonstrated the ability that made him the No. 19 overall pick in the 2011 draft. I’d expect the Giants to make an effort to re-sign Amukamara before free agency officially gets underway, but the team will only go so far to retain him given the options that are out there at cornerback.

"<strongFor the last year, Giants fans have been buzzing about the future of defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. Of course, JPP’s story took a bizarre and tragic turn last July when a fireworks accident cost him a finger and probably millions of dollars. Pierre-Paul got back to football in the fall and was extremely motivated on the field to prove the naysayers wrong. However, for all of his grit and work ethic, he did not look like the same player he did before the hand injury.

Some reports indicated that Pierre-Paul turned down a ~$60MM contract offer from the Giants prior to his 4th of July accident. At this stage, it’s highly unlikely that anyone will be making such an offer to the once-dominant defensive end. Still, Pierre-Paul showed that he can cause trouble for opposing quarterbacks and he could still hold value for the Giants (and other clubs) on a short-term deal. One has to think that the Giants will first explore re-signing JPP to a short-term deal that includes performance-based incentives. JPP’s reps, meanwhile, probably will push for more guaranteed money up front.

The football world (not to mention the fantasy football world) has been waiting for wide receiver Rueben Randle to take off and establish himself as a star wide receiver. We’re now four years into his NFL career and onlookers are no longer waiting with bated breath. Randle has shown flashes in the past, but he has yet to put it altogether and the Giants can probably find a better partner for Odell Beckham Jr. elsewhere. For his part, Randle says he wants to stay in New York.

Defensive end Robert Ayers has played in exactly 12 games in each of the last two seasons for the Giants, but he has proven to be a disruptive force each time. This past season, Ayers notched a career-high 9.0 sacks to go along with 41 total tackles, and the Giants’ pass-rush unit would be lacking if he signs elsewhere.

Last summer, Jasper Brinkley inked a two-year contract with Dallas that included $2MM in guaranteed cash. Months later, the Cowboys decided they’d rather give Brinkley that dough to go elsewhere, and less than 24 hours after he hit the open market, the Giants were there to scoop him up on a one-year deal. A former fifth-round pick, Brinkley started 11 games for Minnesota in 2014, compiling 75 tackles and a sack. This past year, Brinkley started 9 games (playing in 15 total) and racked up 66 total tackles with four forced fumbles and one sack. Brinkley was initially brought in to serve in a reserve role, but a November injury to Jon Beason made him a more central part of the team’s front seven. Now that Beason is retiring (more on that later), Brinkley could be retained as a strong rotational option. Then again, Brinkley will turn 31 in July and the Giants may opt to go younger at linebacker.

Possible Cap Casualties:

"<strongWhat will the Giants do with Victor Cruz? Just two short years ago, Cruz was the darling of New York and the focal point of their passing attack. Now, Beckham Jr. is the team’s ace wide receiver of the future and Cruz has not seen the field since October 12th, 2014.

Cruz was working his way back from a torn patellar tendon that forced him to miss most of 2014 season when, during his recovery, he injured his calf. In November 2015, he was placed on IR before his season could even get started. Cruz is currently set to count $9.9MM against the Giants’ cap in 2016 and none of his remaining $24MM over the next three years is guaranteed, so he’s unlikely to continue on his current contract. However, there’s no reason why the two sides couldn’t agree to a reworked deal that includes a pay cut.

Last year, the Giants were dealt an absolute gut punch when offensive tackle Will Beatty was ruled out for the entire 2015 campaign due to pectoral and rotator cuff injuries. The Giants also badly missed the services of offensive guard Geoff Schwartz. Both players were set to return in 2016 at considerable salaries, but just days ago, Big Blue opted to release both of the linemen.

Schwartz, 29, started 11 games for the Giants in 2015, but his seasons was cut short when he fractured a bone in his left leg in late November, forcing the team to place him on injured reserve. By releasing him, the Giants will avoid paying him $3.925MM annual salaries this year and next year, taking on a hit of about $1.917MM in dead money for 2016. The move creates nearly $3MM in cap savings for the club, while Schwartz – like his brother Mitchell Schwartz – figures to be on the lookout for a new home. Releasing Beatty, meanwhile, will leave $5MM in dead money on the Giants’ 2015 cap, but the move will also clear $4.175MM in space.

The Giants also said adios to linebacker Jon Beason, who announced his retirement. Beason said that he wanted to continue playing, but after consulting with numerous doctors, those experts unanimously recommending that he retire because of his injured knee. Beason would have been owed a $1MM roster bonus if he were still on the Giants’ roster on the fifth day of the 2016 league year. Instead, the Giants’ will clear that bonus, $1.2MM in per-game roster bonuses, a $100K workout bonus, and his $2.8MM base salary from their cap, creating a total of $5.1MM in cap savings. Taking into account the Beason, Schwartz, and Beatty moves, the Giants created more than $12.2MM in cap savings.

Positions Of Need:

Just like last offseason, the safety position stands as one of the Giants’ biggest needs. Last year, the Giants aimed high when they tried to bring Devin McCourty back to New Jersey. When the Rutgers alum returned to the Patriots, the Giants were left scrambling and could not come up with a high-impact solution.

If the Giants want to aim high once again, they could make a run at Chiefs free agent Eric Berry. The two sides are said to be working on an extension, and he’s a candidate for the franchise tag, but Berry would be a phenomenal fit for the Giants if he reaches the open market. Appearing in all 16 games for Kansas City in 2015, Berry logged 61 tackles to go along with a pair of interceptions and 10 passes defended. Pro Football Focus ranked the Tennessee product sixth among 88 qualified safeties. The standout season earned Berry his fourth Pro Bowl berth, along with a spot on the NFL’s All-Pro first team.

The Giants will also have to bolster their defensive line, particularly on the bookends if JPP and/or Ayers are not retained. In theory, Owa Odighizuwa could be elevated to a more significant role, but the club will have to improve its depth in that regard at the very least. The best Giants teams in recent years have relied on strong play from their defensive ends and it’s not like Justin Tuck is walking back through that door (though, technically, he will be back on a one-day deal before retiring).

On the interior of the defensive line, the Giants will have to find some outside help, particularly if Cullen Jenkins leaves in free agency or retires. The club was expecting a big leap forward from Jay Bromley in his second year, but the rising junior probably can’t be counted upon as a starter. A Syracuse product, Bromley started four games for the Giants this season and appeared in all 16, making 19 total tackles.

The Giants and Cruz will likely discuss a re-worked contract at a reduced salary, but that probably won’t end the club’s search for a secondary wide receiver. Entering his third season, ODB figures to draw double coverage from every opposing team unless the Giants can find a credible threat to line up on the opposite side of the field.

Extension Candidates/Contract Issues:

There aren’t a lot of strong veteran candidates for extensions on the Giants’ roster, but there are a pair of players from the 2013 draft class who could get consideration for new contracts.

Guard/tackle Justin Pugh is now one of the key members’ of the team’s offensive line, following the releases of Schwartz and Beatty, so the club could look into extending his rookie contract, though he has a fifth-year option for 2017.

Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, who was placed on IR in November, could be a buy-low candidate if the Giants want to lock him down for future seasons.

Overall Outlook:

The Giants have tons of cap space and flexibility to make major changes, but they’re far from the only team with spending room this spring. The Giants will have to play it smart in free agency and, more importantly, get it right in the draft. Overall, GM Jerry Reese doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to picking college prospects.

“The last couple of drafts have been much more productive. But we had a few in there where we just haven’t seen the production. Your core players are your third, fourth, fifth-year players. If you look back at those draft classes, there’s not a lot of them that are playing right now,” co-owner John Mara said in January.

This year, the Giants hold the No. 10 overall pick, two spots higher than where they landed Beckham Jr. in 2014. They appear to be in prime position to land a promising defensive lineman like Oklahoma St. DE Emmanuel Ogbah, but they’ll have to nail their picks in the later rounds as well in order to put themselves in a better position going forward.

Information from Over The Cap was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

3 comments New York Giants Offseason Outlook PFR Originals

Extra Points: Broncos, Bears, Dolphins

By | at February 13, 2016 9:54 pm

A look around the NFL as Saturday wraps up:

  • Whether the Broncos bring back DeMarcus Ware next season might depend on if they can get a deal done with free agent-to-be Malik Jackson, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Both pass rushers have been important cogs in the Broncos’ dominant defense, but the salary cap could preclude the Super Bowl champions from retaining the pair. At 26, Jackson is significantly younger than Ware, who will enter his age-34 season. Further, releasing Ware would add $10MM to the Broncos’ cap for 2016. That money could obviously be put toward re-signing Jackson. If Denver does cut ties with Ware, his two-year stint with the team will have ended with a 3.5-sack playoff run. Two of those sacks came in the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 victory over Carolina.
  • If the Bears determine that tight end Martellus Bennett is a holdout threat, they’ll start shopping him around the league next month, writes Chris Boden of CSNChicago.com. A holdout wouldn’t be unheard of for Bennett, who sat out the voluntary portion of the Bears’ offseason program last year in an effort to land a better contract. The Bears didn’t bite then, and it doesn’t sound as though they’d blink in the event of a hypothetical Bennett holdout this year. If Chicago shops the soon-to-be 29-year-old – as it did last offseason – and ends up unable to find a taker, the team could cut him and save nearly $5.2MM on its cap in 2016. Bennett’s status is one of many points touched on by PFR’s Dallas Robinson in his offseason preview of the Bears, which can be found here.
  • Regardless of whether they keep Brent Grimes, the Dolphins hope to add at least two new cornerbacks this offseason, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The team cut corner Brice McCain on Friday and could also send Jamar Taylor packing, according to Jackson. Doing so would save Miami just shy of $900,000 on its cap next season.
1 comment Chicago Bears Denver Broncos Miami Dolphins

AFC Notes: Browns, Osweiler, Titans

By | at February 13, 2016 8:08 pm

The latest from the AFC:

  • Given quarterback Brock Osweiler‘s lack of a track record, the Broncos have to take a cautious approach in re-signing the pending free agent, opines Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post. Osweiler was statistically superior to Peyton Manning last season – considering Manning’s struggles, that isn’t saying much – and Kiszla thinks the Broncos should offer him a three-year, $28.5MM deal. That probably wouldn’t be enough to prevent the 25-year-old from testing the free agent market, however.
  • Browns perennial Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas said in January he wanted to see who would take over the team’s vacant general manager and head coaching positions before deciding whether to ask for a trade. The Browns’ front office is now in the hands of executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown, and Hue Jackson is their new head coach. Both have earned Thomas’ approval, which means he’s excited to continue his career in Cleveland. “He was the No. 1 guy that I was hoping that we would hire,” Thomas said of Jackson, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “We got the biggest fish to be had in this offseason and now he was able to put together an impressive staff, so the ship’s headed in the right direction.” On Brown, Thomas stated, “I’m really happy for him. He’s a guy that I’ve gotten to know over the last couple years in Cleveland, even before he took over as the head man, even before the conversation we had after the season, I developed a relationship with him.”
  • Taylor Lewan‘s presence may make it difficult for the Titans to draft Laremy Tunsil at No. 1 overall, Jim Wyatt of Titans.com writes in a mailbag. A second-year left tackle, Lewan rated as the No. 12 overall tackle, per Pro Football Focus, last season.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

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NFC Notes: Forte, Packers, Falcons, Lions

By | at February 13, 2016 5:55 pm

Green Bay could be a destination for running back Matt Forte despite the organization being one of the league’s most hesitant to sign outside veteran help. A source told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune that former Bears teammate Julius Peppers is already discussing a reunion with Forte with the Packers. Eddie Lacy will enter his contract year in 2016, and longtime backup James Starks looms as an unrestricted free agent.

Here’s more from the NFC:

  • The Falcons are leaning toward bringing Roddy White back for his 12th season with the team, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Although White slumped through his worst season as a starter, catching 43 passes for 506 yards in 16 games, Atlanta looks to increase the veteran’s slot usage. Using Larry Fitzgerald as an example, Dan Quinn told media (including Ledbetter) White, who is nearly two years older than Fitzgerald despite entering the NFL a year later, is at his best on in-breaking routes.
  • In other Falcons news, general manager Thomas Dimitroff told Ledbetter he wished he’d have kept Todd McClure after the longtime Atlanta center expressed desire to play in 2013, but the team opted to go younger at the spot in the form of Peter Konz. The Falcons’ starting center from 2000-2012, McClure instead chose to retire after the ’12 season after the team handed his job to Konz, who started for two years and was released in September 2015 after recovering from a torn ACL.
  • The Lions hired Broncos offensive quality control coach Brian Callahan to be their quarterbacks coach, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports. Callahan formerly worked with current Lions OC Jim Bob Cooter in Denver. The son of Bill Callahan, Brian Callahan worked with the Broncos for six seasons.
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